Addressing-machine.



E. D. BELKNAP. ADDRESSING MACHINE. -APPLIOATION FILED sBPT.1o, 1909.

Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. D. BELKNAP.

ADDRESSING MAGHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED sBPT.1o, 1909.

976,142. Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

WW1/Lewes wu@ who@ TH: NoRRls PETERS co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E. D. BELKNAP.`

' A DDRESSING MACHINE. i APPLIUTION FILED SEPT. 10,'1909. 976, 1 42,Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

I l IIIII IIIII IIIIIII IIIIIII Il@ I I I I I I I I .M .www LII; Q I TE. D. BELKNAP.

ADDRESSING MAGHINB.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 1o, 1909.

976,142. Patented N0v.22,1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

1HE Nolzms PsfERs cn.. wAsmNcmr: r

EDWIN DRAYTON BELKNAP, 0F EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

.ADDRESSING-IVIACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented N ov. 22, 1910.

Application filed September 10, 1909. Serial No. 517,039.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN DRAYTON BEL- KNAP, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, residing at East Orange, Essex county, State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAddressingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to printing machines in general, but morespecifically consists of an improved construction of address printingmachines employing stencil cards.

My invention constitutes an improvement on the general type ofaddressing machines illustrated in U. S. Patent to F. D. Belknap,- No.592,603, dated October 26, 1897, and in my U. S. Patent No. 889,503,dated June 2, 1908. In the machines of these patents a series of stencilcards are fed along guides and pass between inking and platen rollerstogether with the articles on which the addresses are to be printed. Thestencil cards and envelops or other articles to be printed are thus inmotion during the act of printing. I have found that it is more convenient when the envelope are to be fed to the machine by hand, to havethem stationary during the act of printing, and also that this permitsthe inking mechanism to be arranged so as to move across the line ofmotion of the stencil cards, instead of parallel to it, which permits ofa more compact arrangement of gearing and which alsoallows the operatorto stand nearer to the point of the machine at which he feeds theenvelops.

The best form of apparatus at present known to me embodying thisinvention or idea of mine is illustrated in the accompanying drawings inwhich:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the machine with a part ofthe frame removed showing the inking mechanism in one position at nearlyone end of its stroke. Fig. 2 is a similar detail showing the inkingmechanism in mid position. Fig.` 3 is a similar detail showing theinking mechanism at the other end of its stroke. Fig. 4 is a frontelevation of a portion of the machine. Fig. 5 is a detail section online 5-5 of Fig. 1 part of the machine being broken away. Figs. 6 and 7are details of the card feed mechanism.

Throughout the drawings like reference numbers indicate like parts.

1 is the main frame of the machine, 2 the card magazine, 3, 3, thestencil cards ready for use therein, 4 the card guides in line with thebottom card in the stack, and 5 the card feed slide. This slide isequipped with a pivoted linger 6, controlled by spring 7 so as to pressup against the bottom card and snap 1n behind the frame thereof, asindicated in Fig. 7. The slide 5 reciprocates in guides 8. A pin 9 actsas a retainer for the cards above the level of the card guides at oneside of the magazine and tips the other edge of the card down inposition to be more easily and securely grasped by finger 6. The slide 5is reciprocated by link 10 connected to feed lever 11 pivoted to theframe at 21., and having a connecting rod 12 extending to crank 13, oncrank shaft 14. The slide 5 is never in contact with the bottom card inthe magazine which is touched by the light spring pressed finger 6 only.Shaft 14 is rotated by bevel gear 15 meshing with bevel gear 16 on mainshaft 17 (see Fig. 6.)

At a suitable point over the card feed guides is located the platen 18,on lever 19 pivoted at 20 to the main frame. The other end of 'lever 19has roller 22 engaging cam 23, on sleeve 45 (see Figs. 1 and 5). Spring24 holds the roller in engagement with the cam and lifts the platen whenthe cam permits.

Under the platen and card guides is located the inking mechanismcomprising an inking roller 25 on shaft 26 which slides in cam shapedguides 27 in a direction at right angles to the line along which thestencil cards are fed. The movement of the shaft 26 and roller 25 inguides 27 is controlled by yoke 28 pivoted to cam lever 29, which latteris pivoted on the frame at 30 and has a cam roller 31 which engages thecam groove in cam plate 32 on sleeve 45. The yoke 28 has a projection 43on which is journaled an idler pinion 34 meshing with pinion 33 on theinking roller shaft. This projection 43 is shaped to inclose and form aguide for rack bar 35 which meshes with pinion 34. The rack bar isconnected by link 36 to cam lever 37, also pivoted to the main frame at30, and having a roller 38 engaging a cam groove in cam plate 39 onsleeve 45. Motion is given to sleeve 45 through any suitable means suchas a clutch 40, on main shaft 17, on which the sleeve 45 is placed.

mechanism.

Any convenient ink fountain 42 having a fountain roller 41, is providedfor supplying ink to roller 25, which as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, maybe cut away for about twothirds of its circumference. The fountainroller is mounted on shaft 46 (see Fig. 4) to which motion is given bygear 47, connected by a train of gearing (not shown) with main shaft 17.A short shaft 48 having pinion 49 and bevel pinion 50 meshing with apinion 51 on screw shaft 52, automatically lowers the sliding bottom 53of the card receiving magazine 44.

In Fig. 4 a part of the card receiving magazine is shown at 44.

In operation the main shaft 17 runs continuously and the stencil cardsare fed along the guides 4, from magazine 2 to magazine 44, under platen18 and over the inking The operator faces the machine, the cards passingbefore him from left to right. IIe holds the envelop to be addressedunder the platen, if no automatic feed mechanism for envelops isemployed, and when a card bearing an address to be printed comes underthe platen the clutch 40 is thrown in either by the operator or by anyautomatic device such as is illustrated in my Patent 889,503, abovereferred to. This causes the sleeve 45 and cams 23, 32 and 39 carriedthereby to revolve. Cam 23 causes platen 18 to descend and hold theenvelop against the card. Cam 32 causes the inking roller to remain ator near the right hand end of guides 27, so that it is in contact withfountain roller 41, and cam 39 causes the rack 35 to make slightmovement relative to the yoke 28, suiiicient to rotate the inking rollerin a direction opposite to the movement of the hands of a watch (lookingat Fig. 1) through a portion of a revolution sufiicient to ink itsentire face by contact with the fountain roller (see Fig. 1). rlhemotion of 28 is then reversed and the inking roller moves to the left,its shaft running up the right hand cam portion of guides 27 and freeingthe roller from the fountain roll contact. The relative motion of therack bar 35 to yoke 28 is also reversed and thereby the ink roller isrotated in the oppositev direction at a rate sufficient to bring itsinked face uppermost as it comes under the card held by the platen, andto cause said inked face to roll but not slide on the card. This drivesthe ink through the stenciled openings in the card upon the envelop (seeFig. 2). At the left hand end of inking roller travel it is freed fromthe card by running down the left hand cam portion of the guides 27 (seeFig. 3). -Its motion both of translation and rotation are then reversedby action of cams 32 and 39, and it is run back under the card again anddown on to the fountain roller. While in the latter position, the platen18 is lifted and another card is fed Vforward stroke.

into position under it, the printed envelop is removed, another oneplaced under the platen and over the card, and the machine is ready torepeat the operation if the clutch 40 is continued in mesh or wheneversaid clutch is thrown in mesh.

The advantages of my invention comprise its eficient inking action,compact arrangement, ease and accuracy with which the envelops can beinserted and removed from the machine, and the avoidance of theenergetic envelop discharging action of the type of ,mechanism shown inthe prior patents above referred to. Vhen one of the machines of suchprior patents is o erated at a high rate of speed the printe envelopsare discharged at a high speed from the machine and are liable to bedistributed around the floor of the shop. In machines embodying mypresent invention this is avoided because the envelop and card are heldstationary while the printing is being done, and no motion at all isgiven to the envelop (or other article being printed) by the printingmechanism. The inking mechanism is also positive in action and littleapt to get out of order because the rack bar is continuously in gearwith the pinions rotating the roller, at all positionsthereof.

The card feeding device is especially positive and certain in actioneven at the highest speeds because the feed slide proper does not touchthe bottom card at any time. When such an unyielding card slide israpidly reciprocated under the cards in the magazine and in contact withthe bottom card, it is apt to throw said cards upward or bend the bottomcard backward so that it may not always grasp the cards on its Inapplicants device only the light spring pressed finger runs along incontact with the bottom card and this card is tipped forward into aposition which insures t-he positive engagement of the fmger with it,both at the beginning of and throughout the forward motion of saidfinger.

The operation of the cam shaped guides is beneficial in keeping the inkroller away from the cards except at the middle portion of its travelwhen it is directly beneath the perforated part of the particular cardin use.

Having, therefore, described my invention,'I claim:

1. In an addressing machine the combination of the inking roller, camshaped guides for same, mechanism for sliding said roller along saidguides, a swinging rack bar, means for gearing the rack bar to theinking roller in all positions of the latter, and mechanism for givingsaid rack bar a pre determined series of movements in a'directiontangent to said inking roller, together with mechanism for placing andholding a stencil card along the line of travel of the inlring rollerand in contact With said roller during a portion of said travel.

2. In an addressing machine, the combination of the inking roller, camshaped guides for same, mechanism for sliding said'roller along saidguides, a swinging rack bar, means for gearing the rack bar to theinking roller in all positions of the latter7 and mechanism for givingsaid rack bar apredetermined series of movements in a direction tangentto a circle Whose center coincides with the axis of said inking roller,both said above mentioned mechanisms comprising cam levers and camsmounted on a common rotating shaft, together With mechanism for placingand holding a stencil card along the line of travel of the inking rollerand in Contact With said roller during a portion of said travel.

3. In an addressing machine, the combination of a magazine for stencilcards, a set of card guides leading from the bottom thereof, a retainingpin at one side of the magazine projecting under one edge of the bottomcard holding said edge of said bottom card above the level of the cardguides and tipping the other edge of said card downward, and areciprocating slide provided With a spring pressed finger adapted tograsp the card at the other and downwardly tipped side, the slide itselfnot touching said card at any time.

Il. In an addressing machine, the combination of guides for a series ofstencil cards, means for feeding such cards along said guides, an inkingroller, an ink fountain with fountain roller therein, and mechanism formoving said inking roller from contact With the fountain roller tocontact with one of said stencil cards and positively rtating same Whilein contact with the roller and While in contact With the card, saidmechanism comprising a pinion on the shaft of the inking roller and arack bar constantly geared to said pinion at all positions of theinlring roller.

EDWIN DRAYTON BELKNAP.

Vitnesses I. PHILLIPS PAYsoN, SAMUEL VEINBERG.

